Modeling three-terminal III- V lSi tandem solar cells

Three-terminal (3T) tandem cells fabricated by combining an interdigitated back contact (IBC) Si device with a wider bandgap top cell have the potential to provide a robust operating mechanism to efficiently capture the solar spectrum without the need to current match sub-cells or fabricate complicated metal interconnects between cells. Here we develop a two dimensional device physics model to study the behavior of IBC Si solar cells operated in a 3T configuration. We investigate how different cell designs impact device performance and discuss the analysis protocol used to understand and optimize power produced from a single junction, 3T device.